Ghana Health Service In Crisis

Shortage of medical personnel in Ghana has reached a crisis stage and requires radical measures to bring the situation under control. The Ghana Health Service plans to organise a stakeholders’ forum on August 4 and 5 to brainstorm on proposals, aimed at increasing training facilities to meet the staffing needs of the Service.

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Professor Agyemang Badu Akorsah made this known when he paid a four-day working visit to the Upper West Region. The visit took him to all the key health facilities in the Region during which he interacted with the staff to assess their problems and needs.

He expressed regret that at the Lawra Hospital he met a nurse, who reported to work at 0800 hours and had to work late into the night because there was reliever. Dr Akorsah said there was the need to increase the intake into nursing training institutions by making some students non-residential to create room for more classes.

He suggested that the number of years students spent at the medical school should be decreased from seven to five years as pertained in other countries to turn out more doctors.

During one of the interactions with staff of the Wa Regional Hospital, they called on the Service to give priority in the distribution of incentives and promotions to personnel serving in deprived communities.

They also spoke against the denial of transfers to staff serving in such areas on the excuse that they would not get anybody to replace them. "This attitude portends that it is punishment serving in deprived areas," Dr Siaw, a Medical Officer at the hospital, said.